Blanking apparatus



16, 1948. C, M, BEYER i 2,437,994

BLANK'ING APPARATUS Filed March 5, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 /0 i F/G.

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16, 1948. c.'M. BEYER 25437994 BLANKING APPARATUS Filed March 5,. 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 16, 1948.

C. M. BEYER BLANKING APPARATUS Filed March 5, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 16, 1948 STATES PATENT OFFICE BLANKING APPARATUS Charles M. Beyer, F1emingt0n,.N. I., assigner to Western Electric Company, Inoorporated,.New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 5, 1946, Serial-No. 652,182

1 Claim.

This invention relates to apparatus for blanking articles, particularly irregular transparent articles or materials, such as mica.

Thin portions of mica are employed inthe communication arts for forming condensers of different sizes, these portions being blanked from` tain a finished portion of a given contour hasY proven more desirable.

An object of the invention is to provide a blanke ing apparatus which is simple in structure, com pact in form and eiiicient in operation for feeding irregular materials between elements of a press for the blanking of a portion of a given contour therefrom.

According to the invention, irregularly contoured work materials are accurately positioned, for transfer to a blanking position, at a safe posi.- tion remote from the press. By so doing, all actions required by the operator are removed from the area of the press, guarding against injuries to the operator and accidents to' the press, and also making it possible to use smaller pieces of material than could be manually fed with safety to the press.

One embodiment of the invention comprises an apparatus with a blanking die having an opening of a given contour and an actuable companion punch therefor, a locating target similar in contour to the die opening, being disposed at a position spaced from the die, and a spider, having fingers actuable to grip materials placed singly on the target, movabie intermittently between operating cycles of the punch to successively feed the materials between the punch and die. The

lingers are radially disposed upon a support andv to the next movement of the spider. The second.

operation performed by the driving means in cludes a cam for intermittently advancing the spider the distance between the radialv centerlines,

ofV the fingers to successively position the materials between the punch anh diewhile theyI are in` open position, the lingers firmly holding their respective materials during the blanlgingY opera,- tions. The third operation performed by thedrivirig means' includes a mechanism for operatev ing the punch for-performing the blanking opera..-

tion. A stationary cam moves the fngersawayv from thesupport at the irst station beyond the punch. and die to. release the scraptmaterial and.

allow it topassintoa receptacle. The scrap ma.- terial may-be urged from the spider. by jets of; air or other means if so desired.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from: the following detailed. description, when. considered. in conjunction with the accompanying:

drawings, wherein.

Fig. 1= is a topplan View of the apparatus with.

the punch mechanism removed;

Fig.v 2r is a. fragmentary vertical sectionalview:

taken alongv the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;v

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectionalv View talrenA along the line 3-3 of. Fig. 1;

Fig.. 4 is a fragmentary sectional. view taken.

along the lined-4; of Fig. 3; and.

Fig. 5 is a. fragmentary sectional view taken alongthe line 5-5of. Fig. l.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus.

includes a hase I9 having a bianking unit H mounted at a rearmost position thereon. The blanking unit includes a main bracket t2 with. abearing portion hito receive a. reciprocable ram. A yoke l? fixedly.

I5. of: a blanking punch it. mounted upon the punch lstraddles a guidepin IBf carried by. the bracket I2. Through the co..

operationof the yoke andi the pin, the punch |61 is held" againstrotation and. in true alignment with the aperture I9 of a blanlring die 29. The die stacked. formation. The ram I5 of the punch carries a pin25 providing connection between the ramY and a yoke type end 26 of a lever 2'I` (Fig. 4). The lever 2'l'has its other end .xedly mounte ed upon a shaft 28, the shaft supporting a cam lever 29 and fixed thereto. The cam lever 29 is urged in a clockwise direction by spring S0 to nor` mally hold the punchV I6 in its upperV position and tolhold-a'- cam roller 3|, carried by the lower end of the lever 29, intoengagement with acam- 32; The cam isflxedly mounted upon a drive 3 shaft 33 which is journalled in suitable bearings 34 supported by the base I0.

A table 35 is supported by the base l0 at the forward portion thereof and has a target 36 of a given contour embedded in a recess 31 therein so that the upper surface of the target is in the plane of the upper surface of the table, the plane of these surfaces extending between the punch and die when the punch is in its upper position.

A spider indicated generally at 40 is interposed between the target 36 and the punch and die, the table being recessed at 4l for the positioning of the target 36 closely adjacent the periphery of the spider. The spider 40 includes a support 42 in the form of a dial centrally mounted upon a vertical shaft 43, the shaft being journalled in suitable bearings 44 in an apertured portion 45 of the base l0. An annular member or hub 46 is centrally mounted upon the support 42 and has radially grooved portions for receiving and pivotally supporting the inner ends 41 of fingers 48. The ngers 48 are radially disposed at spaced positions above the support 42 and have widened material engaging ends G extending substantially to the periphery of the support. Individual springs 5l normally urge the fingers downwardly about their pivots into gripping positions. with sufficient force to cause the fingers to hold material received at the target until after it passes the blanking position. Adjustable screws 53 are carried by the fingers intermediate their ends, the lower portions of the screws extending through apertures 54 in the support 42. An arcuate cam 55 mounted upon the base lil beneath the support 42 has an upper surface 56 for the screws 53 to ride upon after the fingers leave the punch and die to move the ngers into open positions to free the scrap so that it may drop into a chute or receptacle 51. The cam 55 extends to a position short of the target 36 after which special means is provided to open the nger at the target, that is, to move the fingers away from the support for the feeding of material therebetween and for freeing the ngers to close on the material prior to the indexing 4of the spider. This mechanism, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, includes a cam 60 'mounted upon the drive shaft 33 and formed to actuate a cam lever 6I. This lever is pivotally supported at 62 upon a bracket or integral vertical portion 63`of the base l0. On one arm, the lever carries a cam roller 64 which is normally urged into engagement with the cam 60 by helical spring 65. The otherarmof the lever 6l carries an adjustable shelf S6 for movement into engagement with the lower end of the screw 53 of the adjacent finger.48 to move the nger into a raised position as shown4 at the left in Fig. 3. The contour of the cam is such that the finger opened by the lever 6l will be allowed to close on the material, placed over the target 35, prior to the indexing of the spider.

The indexing means for the spider includes a barrel type cam 1U fixedly mounted upon the drive shaft 33 and operating in conjunction with rollers 1l mounted in equally spaced circular formation on the under surface of the support 42 so that during each rotation of the shaft 33 the spider will be rotated the distance between the radial centers of the fingers and held in this position a given length of time suicient for the operating cycle of the press. A sprocket 13 mounted upon the shaft 33 may be driven by a chain 14 froml a suitable power means (not shown) During the operation of the apparatus, a supply 4 of the materials or mica sheets 15 may be placed at a suitable position on the table 35 so that the sheets may be singly selected and placed over the target 36 at the proper time so that a portion thereof may be positioned between the finger and f tion of the material is maintained due to the rm gripping of the material at the loading position and maintaining the gripping connection while the material is fed to the punch and during the blanking operation. The lingers do not release their hold on the material until after the scrap, remaining from the blanking operation, has been moved beyond the punch and die to a position over the chute 51 at which time the scrap material is released. A guard 16, carried by the bracket I2 surrounds the punch l5 on three sides and is curved, as shown in Fig. 4, t0 assist in guiding the materials between the punch and die.

With this apparatus, a compact and complete mechanism is provided for receiving the irregular and ofttimes wavy sheets of mica for accurate location thereof at a remote position with respect to the press to locate the particular portion of the material which is to be blanked therefrom and to rmly hold the material in the selected location until after the completion of the blanking operation. The various mechanisms of the apparatus will always perform their functions in properly timed relation since they are all controlled by the common shaft 33.

Although specific improvements of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are but illustrative and that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A blanking apparatus comprising a blanking die having an opening of a given contour, an actuatable companion punch therefor, a table having a recess therein spaced from the punch and die, a locating target similar in contour to the die opening disposed in the recess, a spider, mounted for rotation between the target and the punch and die, including a support having an upper surface, a

hub mounted centrally of the support, and equallyY spaced radially extending fingers pivotally carried by the hub and having widened ends normally urged toward the upper surface of the support to grip and nrmly hold materials selectively located on the target, a drive shaft, means operated` by the shaft to intermittently rotate the spider the distance between the radial centers of the fingers to feed the materials successively between the punch and die, means adjacent the target operated by the shaft to lift the adjacent finger from the support for the location of the Y next material on the target and to free the finger to grip the material prior to the next rotary movement of the spider, means operated by the shaft to move the punch through an operating cycle to blank a portion from the material positioned between the punch and die leaving the scrap of the material gripped by the adjacent finger and support, and means to move the fingers to free the scrap after they leave the punch and die.

le of this patent: 1,932,571

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Platt; Jan. 12, 1886 Platt July 12, 1887 Frothingham Apr. 21, 1908 Furber Nov. 27, 1923 Blood Oct. 31, 1933 

